Kensington Wine Market’s E-Whisky Newsletter
Dear Malt Messenger Readers,
I hope you all had a great long weekend!
I expect some of you may have missed last week’s Malt Messenger, given the holiday. Amongst other things, we launched the first half of our Fall Tasting Schedule. There are lots of cool events to look forward to, one of which has already sold out… As always, space is limited, and the tastings are sold first come first serve basis. We will be announcing the rest of the schedule in early September.
We also mentioned a number of exciting new whiskies last week, one of which we were a little light on details. I have tasting notes and descriptors for the new The Whisky Trail Haiku Series.
The other key bit of news is about our upcoming Sale this weekend. The Super Summer Sale will run from Friday, August 11, to Sunday, August 13, in-store and online. More details are below.
Lastly, a few other new arrivals to tell you about, from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional malts!
As always, in the event of a discrepancy in price, the point of sale at KWM will be taken as correct. Online ordering and in-store purchasing are always our preferences. You can email your requests in… but they won’t be dealt with as quickly as the web orders!
Sincerely,
Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market
In This Edition
1. Reminder: The Super Summer Sale Starts Friday
2. Details & Tasting Notes for The Whisky Trail Haiku Series
3. New Remarkable Regional Malts
4. Evan’s Scotch Malt Whisky Society Corner
5. Upcoming Tastings
Reminder: The Super Summer Sale Starts Friday
12:01AM… SAVE 10-50%
Our Super Summer Sale starts Friday, at 12:01AM online, and 10AM in-store. Almost everything* in-stock is 10-50% off, nearly 3000 products in all, through end of day Sunday, August 13.
SAVE 10-40% on most* in-stock whisky!
A sale email highlighting all the deals will go out first thing Friday, August 11th!
* Excludes most Scotch Malt Whisky Society whiskies, and many new arrivals!
Details & Tasting Notes on the New
The Whisky Trail Haiku Range
We didn’t have all the details when we went to press last week, but we do now, so we are sharing them again. I hope to have my own tasting notes out in a week or so. Note the Dailuaine has already sold out… must have been the colour!
Also, I asked for clarification on where the idea for the Haiku range came from, and Elixir Brand Ambassador Celine (aka Lily) Tetu replied with a Haiku: Ollie. Late. Night. Tasting. In. the. Office…”
None of these will be on sale this weekend!
1. Whisky Trail Haiku Dailuaine 12 Year – 55.8% – 2009 – Sherry Hogshead – Haiku: “Slow distillation / like making / flavoursome / stock / defines its essence.” – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: A slice of zesty and spiced orange polenta cake is served witha glass of sweet, heady dessert wine to round off a meal. In the background the smell of freshly brewing coffee and fruity fudge hangs in the air. Palate: Orange oil and crystalised ginger flavour rich, dark chocolate. Soft treacle toffee and plump figs in syrup show alongside. Finish: Spiced, dark fruit notes with a waft of clove at the end.” – SOLD OUT
2. Whisky Trail Haiku Invergordon 28 Year – 50.3% – 1993 -ex-Bourbon Barrel – Haiku: “Elegant aging / simplicity in / spirit / the dram / enabled.” – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Thick custard is poured over banana cake which is topped with a crisp, caramelised sugar and flaked almond covering. Freshly baked vanilla cookies cool down on a baking rack-wafting delicious waves of temptation into the air. Palate: Delightfully rich and soft salted caramel souffle melts in the mouth closely followed by a big spoonful of creamy, toffee vanilla custard. Finish: Decadent layers of caramel, butterscotch, toffee…. it goes on and on.” – $225 – 88pts Whiskybase
3. Whisky Trail Haiku Strathclyde 28 Year – 55.1% – 1993 -ex-Bourbon Barrel – – Haiku: “The / definition / of poise it rises and falls.” – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: An expensive vanilla bean candle burns on a polished wooden side table. Warm brioche rolls are heavily dusted with confectioner’s sugar. A jar of unrefined caster sugar infuses with split vanilla pods. There is a faint hint of freshly sawn wood in the background. Palate: The palate has a rich, unctuous and syrupy mouthfeel. Boiled condensed milk caramel is layered with rich, melted Belgian chocolate to provide a dip for skewers of cookie dough and marshmallow cubes. Finish: Decadent, silky smooth and luxurious! More, please!” – $225 – 88.5pts Whiskybase
4. Whisky Trail Haiku Teaninich 14 Year – 56.6% – 2007 – Hogshead – Haiku: “Through / modern /mashing / comes complexity / unbound / in stills purity.” – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Lemon drizzle cake and a big bowl of fresh fruit salad with pineapple, apple slices, kiwi and melon all sprinkled with finely grated citrus zest. Palate: The fruity character in the nose develops to include soft, stoned fruits. The sharp, citrus tang dances on the sides of the tongue. A drop of water mellows the citrus tang down to bring many soft and gentle layers of fruit. Finish: Long, fruity and slightly creamy on the develops finish.” – $132 – 86pts Whiskybase
New Remarkable Regional Malts
A trio of new offerings from Douglas Laing’s Remarkable Regional Malts!
1. Big Peat 12 Year – 46% – Producer Note: “Big Peat is a marriage of Single Malt Scotch Whiskies only from the island of Islay. With Caol Ila spirit bringing sweetness, Bowmore the perfect balance, Ardbeg a medicinal, earthy quality and Port Ellen, a degree of elegance, Big Peat represents all that is Islay in a bottle.” – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: The nose opens clean, fresh, salty and oceanic, developing to sweet Malt dried over peat. Palate: On the palate, anticipate charred oak, chimney smoke, rock pools and summer tar. Finish: A long and lingering finish of brown sugar, bonfire ashes and real phenolic quality.” – $115
2. Big Peat The Smokehouse Edition – 48% – Producer Note: “This is Big Peat as you have never seen him before, finished predominantly in red wine casks, giving the already robust and smoky spirit a layer of added complexity and character, ideal for enjoying with a celebratory steak.” –Producer Tasting Note: “Prepare to indulge in juicy flavours from the grill paired with the ultimate Smokehouse sipper! On the nose, detect dark fruits, red apples, and vanilla’d oak. The palate reveals dried cherries, peat smoke, and an oceanic saltiness. The long-lasting finish delivers red currant jus, smoked meats, and a peppered spiciness.” – $125
3. Rock Island 14 Year Sherry Edition – 46.8% – Producer Note: “Rock Island 14 Years Old Sherry Limited Edition is a remarkably rich and robust encapsulation of predominantly Sherry cask matured Single Malts from Orkney, Arran, Jura & Islay.” – Producer Tasting Note: Nose: The nose bursts with an oceanic freshness, followed by wafts of peat smoke with sweet red grapes. Palate: The palate rolls with waves of sea salt, baking spices and maple-cured bacon. Finish: The finish drifts on and on with subtle notes of bonfire ash, manuka honey and rich dark fruits.” – $96
Evan’s SMWS Corner
The SMWS Canada August Outturn was a bit of a doozy. Despite only being six bottles deep (as happens in June, July, and August), the release was chock-full of notable bottles. A quick rundown:
· A delicious 18-Year-Old Auchentoshan that is confectionary driven with plenty of cotton candy and angel food cake notes that collide in a spectacular fashion with red fruits on the tongue.
· A peated Glenturret, which disguises itself as an Ardmore on the nose: full of Sunday breakfast notes of pancakes, honey, and breakfast sausage. The palate changes direction though, with earthy and spicy peat taking over. The sweet malt and grain notes tie it all together.
· Last but certainly not least, is a 19 Year Old Laphroaig. From a Sherry butt no less. Could this dram mark the end of the Laphroaigs we have seen from the SMWS? Laphroaig doesn’t seem to be sold to brokers as single malt anymore. Instead, the distillery sells casks of teaspooned/blended malt whisky under the name Williamson. So the days of the SMWS bottling Laphroaig are at least coming to a pause, if not an end. Get a bottle of this while you can, but don’t pour one out in memorium to the end of an era, for this is too good and too expensive to waste on the dead!
Read on for the official notes below!
Evan
2. Scotch Malt Whisky Society 70.49: Cherry chocolate truffle oil – 55.5% – 14 Year – 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel – Bottle note: “Kumquats, peaches and tangerine ice cream merged with big spices and deep notes of toffee, cherry chocolate and raspberries in creamy custard.” – $200
3. Scotch Malt Whisky Society 5.97: Embrace balmy summer -56.7% – 18 Year – 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel – Bottle note: “Warm hay, tropical fruits, melted butter in the sun and red wine sangria made us all sing George Gershwin’s “Summertime and the living is easy”.” – $235
4. Scotch Malt Whisky Society 78.66: Las bodegas de Fort William – 59.4% – 10 Year – Ex-bourbon hogshead / Finished in 2nd fill Oloroso hogshead – Bottle note: “A perfect balance of sherry and distillery character is on display in this big, chunky, dark, fruity and wonderfully charismatic west Highlander.” – $188
5. Scotch Malt Whisky Society 16.80: Red sky at night, barn’s alight – 60% – 11 Year – Refill re-charred hogshead – Bottle note: “Plums, nectarines and orange peel mixed with farmhouse cider and tractor grease while smoke billowed from burning flowers, turf and tree stumps.” – $173
6. Scotch Malt Whisky Society 29.279: Now let’s take a kind farewell – 57.3% – 19 Year – Refill oloroso butt – Bottle note: “A pure example of this make. A dram to kindle determination facing down a storm and light an inner fire against the coldest, darkest nights.” – $495
New & Upcoming Tastings
Rather than list the new ones first, all of our tastings are listed in chronological order. I know no one wants to face the fact that summer is half over, but maybe it will be some consolation that we have some really cool events planned this fall… The first half of our fall tasting schedule is now online!
OLD MALT CASKS First Editions Round 2
· Date: Tuesday, August 15· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $60· VIRTUAL TASTING· Only 5 spots left!
We’re super excited to do a part 2 tasting to one we did at the tail end of 2022. Another handful of really cool Hunter Laing whiskies landed recently, so of course we tasted through ’em with our friend Lee (the local importer) and immediately started to conspire about sharing these with a bigger audience. The name of this event may be a mouthful, but trust us… the whiskies are even more so. This range of Old Malt Cask, First Edition and Old & Rare ranges includes 7 single-cask whiskies from Ben Nevis, Knockdhu, Craigellachie, Cragganmore, Tamdhu, Linkwood, and Glen Garioch. Tuesday, August 15 @ 7 PM
Berry Bros.’ & Rudd KWM Casks & More
· Date: Tuesday, August 22· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $45· VIRTUAL TASTING
We are fortunate to have a strong relationship with British Wine merchants and independent bottler Berry Bros. & Rudd. We have four new Berry’s KWM casks hitting shelves, plus an exclusive blend, so it is time to put them all in a tasting! This lineup includes .5oz samples of a 1993 Tullibardine and the Berry’s Perspective 21-Year-Old Blend, plus our Berry’s Tobermory 2008 KWM Cask and our new Dailuaine, Glen Moray, Inchgower, and Rhadh Mhor (peated Glenturret) KWM single cask selections. Tuesday, August 22nd @ 7 PM
Blinded by Bourbon August 2023 Edition
· Date: Thursday, August 24· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $40· VIRTUAL TASTING· Only 5 spots left!
Harmony and Evan are back at it for the third time this year! Join the dynamic duo for a new blind lineup of eight whiskies that includes some new bottles they are itching to share with you and possibly even try themselves for the first time. What will be chosen for this blind Bourbon tasting? SPOILERS: The lowest ABV in the lineup is 46% and the highest is nearly 64%. There will be Bourbon. There may be Rye. There may even be a curveball or two thrown in the lineup just for fun! Find out by joining us online via Zoom on Thursday, August 24th @ 7 PM.
Exploring Glen Lomond & Loch Scotia
· Date: Tuesday, August 29
Yeah, we struggled for a name for this one. Just go with it. Evan is on vacation at the time of this writing, so our funny bones are not being sufficiently tickled at the moment. Anyway… the recent arrival of our brand-spanking-new KWM-exclusive Loch Lomond cask was the catalyst for this tasting. And then it occurred to us that we also have a bespoke Glen Scotia cask. The icing on the cake was the recent arrival of just a wee handful of bottles of the now elusive distillery-bottled Glen Scotia 25-year-old. We immediately fleshed out the range with a couple more official bottlings from each distillery, and voila! The confusingly named ‘Exploring Glen Lomond & Loch Scotia’ tasting was born. Pssst… we promise the drams will be better than the name. Tuesday, August 29th @ 7 PM
· Date: Wednesday, September 6
Log in, pour your drams and join us from home, the cottage, another country, or work… for the September 2023 Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada Virtual Outturn Tasting. The KWM team will be your guide as you sample through an exciting range of 7 new SMWS bottlings. Wednesday, September 6 @ 7 PM
· Date: Thursday, September 7
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada’s September 2023 Outturn tasting will feature 7 new bottlings. The range will be the same as the virtual tasting the night before but will also include nibbles from our friends at Peasant Cheese and the comradery that can only come from 18 SMWS Members in our tasting room. Please note, we will not be holding back stock of the Outturn bottles specifically to purchase for this in-person tasting, though there will likely be bottles of most whiskies still available.
Thursday, September 7th @ 8 PM (6PM is Sold Out!)
· Date: Saturday, September 9
Andrew Mustard, Brand Ambassador for The GlenAllachie, is swinging into town for our first in-store GlenAllachie tasting in years, so we’ve cobbled together an impressive range, including two different bottlings of the GlenAllachie 10-Year Cask Strength, the 2012 Vintage Cuvee, and the very limited 18 and 21-year-olds. Participants in this tasting, and the virtual tasting a couple of weeks later, will also have the opportunity to enter an exclusive ballot to purchase the 18 and 21-year-olds! Saturday, September 9 @ 6 PM
· Date: Tuesday, September 12
· VIRTUAL TASTING
We’ll provide the bangers, but you’re on the hook for your own mash. If you’re not ‘UK-culinarily-informed’ enough to grab that reference, please excuse the bad dad joke. Nothing to see here. A few new arrivals from the Whisky Trail Silhouette range – Ben Nevis, Caol Ila, Croftengea (peated Loch Lomond), and a 1973 Carsebridge – will be complemented by a teenage Mannochmore from SMOS, a 21-year-old Rosebank(!) and a 44-year-old Bunnahabhain. Yes… 44. This line-up is crazy, and unquestionably one of the most interesting tastings we’ve pulled together in quite some time. Did we mention Rosebank?
Tuesday, September 12th @ 7 PM
· Date: Friday, September 15
We are thrilled to welcome Catherine MacMillan, Kilchoman Brand Manager, for our first in-person Kilchoman Distillery vertical tasting in years. Our lineup hasn’t been finalized, but it is expected to include some past and future KWM Kilchoman exclusive casks, as well as a handful of other limited edition releases. Friday, September 15 @ 7 PM
· Date: Tuesday, September 19
Knowing not everyone is able to come down to the shop for an in-person GlenAllachie tasting, we have also decided to offer a virtual tasting with the same lineup. Andrew Mustard won’t be joining us this time, but KWM’s Andrew Ferguson will be hosting with James Bornn, GlenAllachie’s agent extraordinaire. Participants will sample 7 whiskies, including two different bottlings of the GlenAllachie 10-Year Cask Strength, the 2012 Vintage Cuvee, and the very limited 18- and 21-year-olds. Participants in this tasting and the earlier in-person one will also have the opportunity to enter an exclusive ballot to purchase the 18 and 21-year-olds! Tuesday, September 19 @ 7 PM
· Date: Thursday, September 21
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $50
· IN-PERSON
Harmony and Geoff will be taking you down the rabbit hole with this forever-in-the-planning-stage tasting. We’ve wanted to do this one for a long time, and it seems the stars have finally aligned. This is a tasting that will suit both wine wankers and whisky weirdos (we like to think we’re both!), and should leave your head full of nifty little details guaranteed to make you both well-versed and the life of any party (caution, may not do the latter). Learn about the intricacies of Sherry and parlay that into a greater understanding of how Sherry casks impact Scotch Whisky. Thursday, September 21 @ 7 PM
· Date: Friday, September 29th
Carl Crafts, Brand Ambassador for Adelphi and Ardnamurchan, will be our special guest as we dig into a range of both independent and distillery bottlings. On the Adelphi side of things, we have selected whiskies from Benrinnes, Caol Ila, the “Highlands”, and Chichibu (yes, you are reading that right!) to sample. We will add to this a selection of whiskies from Ardnamurchan, which is one of the most exciting of the dozens of new distilleries in Scotland. We only received two bottles of the Chichibu, one of which we are opening. The other bottle will be made available for sale by ballot, exclusively to participants in the tasting! Friday, September 29th @ 7 PM
· Date: Tuesday, October 3rd
The staff here at KWM have a soft spot for the savoury whiskies from the Pulteney Distillery on Scotland’s North Sea coast. With the return of the Old Pulteney 25 Year, and a 1982 vintage Gordon & MacPhail bottling kicking around, there was no better time to pull together an epic vertical of whiskies from the Pulteney Distillery. Participants will sample through 7 Pulteney whiskies, with a collective age of about 130 years… Andrew might even dig up some of his photos from the distillery! Tuesday, October 3rd @ 7 PM
· Date: Tuesday, October 10th
To celebrate the launch of our 5th KWM exclusive cask of Benromach, we are putting on a vertical tasting of 8 Benromach whiskies, half of which are single casks. The lineup includes the Benromach Core Range bottlings of 10, 15, and 21-year-olds, as well as the Benromach Contrasts Triple Distilled. For the single casks, we have the new Benromach Polish Oak, a 2007 cask bottled for Calgary’s SinDicate whisky club, and two different KWM casks: our sold-out 2003, and the new 2002. Tuesday, October 10 @ 7 PM
· Date: Thursday, October 12th
Wolfburn is the first of the dozens of Scottish distilleries which opened in the 2010s to bottle a 10-year-old whisky. To mark the occasion we’re doing a Wolfburn vertical tasting with Brand Ambassador Mark Westmorland. We’ll sample through 7 different expressions of Wolfburn, including the soon-to-be-released Wolfburn 10 Year old! Thursday, October 12th @ 7 PM
· Date: Tuesday, October 17th
Twenty-five-year-old whisky has become ever more expensive and scarce in recent years. Macallan 25 Year Sherry Oak will now set you back more than $5K, Dalmore 25 Year is not far behind, and even Glenrothes 25 Year is nearly $1700. We could debate whether those whiskies are worth the price, but what we can say for sure is that there is still good value to be had… We’ve put together a range of 8 excellent 25-year-old single-malt Scotch whiskies, all of which are under $800 a bottle. In fact, you could buy the full set of 8 whiskies, for a thousand dollars less than a single bottle of Mac 25… Our range consists of whiskies from Balblair, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Glenfarclas, Glengoyne, Linkwood, Mortlach, and Speyside Distilleries. 200 years’ worth of quarter-century-old malts! Tuesday, October 17th @ 7 PM
We are proud to offer Free City Wide Delivery on all orders over $100 Monday-Friday!
Orders under $100 are subject to a flat rate $10 delivery fee.
We are expecting high demand for delivery after the sale so please be patient!
*All Prices Quoted here are subject to change and do not include GST. In the case of pricing discrepancies, the price at our point of sale will be taken as correct.
The Kensington Wine Market | 1257 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 3P8 Canada
